04/10/2025
Stumbling Upon Excellence:
This is Luis, one of the craftsmen from StazOn Roofing, captured on site at 7:32 PM Monday evening. He and his crew had been working since 7:07 AM. I know this because my job site security camera—faithfully insomniac—alerted me earlier than usual. That anomaly got my attention.
I grew up in a roofing family and know full well that early starts are standard in summer. Still, I appreciated the significance of the four extra man-hours Luis's crew unlocked with their early arrival and the progress that comes with them.
When I arrived mid-afternoon—after supervising a foundation pour at another job—the team was deep into the day's work, dialing in critical transitions between TPO roof material and metal fascia, prepping them for a long life of leak-free service.
Mario, our master framer-turned-apprentice superintendent, greeted me. A skilled craftsman with a heart of gold, Mario was doing his best to advocate for some of the homeowner’s primary concerns: cosmetic alignment details. But to seasoned roofers focused on roof integrity, those items probably felt like low-priority polish.
As the day wound down, I sensed a little friction—Mario was pushing for finish work, while Luis and the crew were probably pretty frustrated, tired, and ready to call it. They’d done the hard work. The roof was tight, and the core was solid.
And then I saw it, out of the corner of my eye, just as I was pulling out—Luis, hose in hand, spraying down the house. Not to water it so it would grow faster but to water-test a critical transition where stone, roof, and metal fascia meet. That corner had never leaked. Add to that it had just endured a weekend of heavy rain without issue. No one asked him to test it. He did it anyway. He knew it was the one non-cosmetic area the homeowner was most worried about.
That’s excellence.
Not because it was required. Not because someone was watching. But because Luis holds himself to a higher standard.
This is one of those small, accidental moments that define the difference between a typical contractor and a true craftsman. Luis is precisely the kind of person we want on our team at Richard Miller Custom Homes. Integrity. Initiative. Pride in his work—even at the end of a long, annoying day.
As the company owner, I need to trust that the craftsmen on our team will do the right thing even when no one is looking when they are tired, frustrated, and would rather be elsewhere.
If you think that kind of commitment is common in this industry, I can tell you—it’s not. In over 20 years, I’ve learned how rare it is to find people like Luis who will do the right thing when no one’s watching.
Luis and the StazOn crew have earned their spot on our team. You fit right in with our culture, where *the details matter*.
P.S. Luis came back later in the week and nailed those cosmetic details too—just like I knew he would.
StazOn Roofing
